Evenfall (37 page)

Sin scowled at him and moved to cross his arms but thought better of it as the wound in his arm twinged with the halted motion. "You're either being cocky or stupid. Truman is the pack leader of a lot of guards who run this place. The ones that hate me and field agents in general, not guards like doe-eyed Gerant back there. It would be wise to not get on their bad side just because of me."

Boyd looked over and his eyes narrowed. There was a flash of something in his eyes that Sin was unaccustomed to seeing in Boyd; a firm, hard edge that was as close to anger or a warning as Sin had so far seen. "So I should allow a terrible person to hurt others in front of me simply because it could be inconvenient for me to say anything? Do you think they wouldn't hate me anyway? I'm already disliked because of my mother and my position. You're my partner and I'm going to help you. Even if it wasn't part of my job, I would not let that go."

Sin opened his mouth to reply but halted abruptly. Frustratingly enough, he found that he didn't know what to say in response. There was something intriguing about the way Boyd's eyes were flashing at the moment; about the way his quiet voice had an undercurrent of vehemence on Sin's behalf. It was so unexpected and bizarre that he could only shake his head as he tried to form proper words.

"You defended me, that was enough. And I..." he trailed off for a moment, looking away casually with a slight shrug. "I appreciate it. No one ever has before. But taking it further isn't necessary. I would not like... to see you once again get hurt because you were trying to help me."

Boyd's lips were parted as if he planned to continue arguing, but Sin's words made him pause and search what he could see of Sin's face. After a moment he shook his head and his eyebrows drew together. When he met Sin's eyes, he looked quietly determined.

"It'll be alright; that doesn't concern me. What concerns me is you have such low expectations that even someone speaking up on your behalf is enough for you, and Truman seems too arrogant to stop until he's challenged. I'm not going to stop halfway on this. If something happens to me on a mission, I'd prefer to have your treatment on official record first. Your next partner may be unwilling to help."

At that, Sin glared. "Will you shut up about next partners? I decide to go along with this shit and you're still all ready to drop dead at any moment."

"I'm being realistic," Boyd replied simply. "I'm more likely to die before you do. It has nothing to do with you being a good partner. I'm simply thinking ahead."

"You're an idiot."

Boyd's eyebrow quirked up at that but he didn't seem angry. He simply scrutinized Sin before responding. "What are you worried about anyway? Is there something I should know about Truman?"

Sin rocked back on his heels for a moment before answering, debating how far into it he wanted to go. It would have been smarter to end the conversation before he gave Boyd further ammunition for filing a report.

For some reason, however, he didn't.

"He's a predator and he views me as an ideal victim. The fact that I'm generally hated suits him because no one is likely to believe me if I tell anyone, but he doesn't actually care about what I've allegedly done. When he's denied what he wants, he gets worse and he will lash out. It doesn't help that his buddies tend to man the surveillance station."

Boyd's eyes narrowed. "I see. As a predator, does that mean he's attacked or harassed others in the past? Or has it mostly been you due to your circumstances?"

"I know he had a record of it before he was recruited here."

Boyd seemed to consider that. "How long has he been here?"

Sin shrugged again, looking away from Boyd finally. "At least five years, perhaps more. He first appeared on the Fourth two years into my first incarceration."

Boyd's lips twitched down on the edges. "Does everyone know what he's like? Officer Gerant didn't seem surprised by the situation."

A low scoff escaped Sin's mouth and he shook his head. "All of the guards on the Fourth who are in the maximum security wing know what he's like. I don't know what it is to Gerant. Maybe he's a bit more squeamish than the others."

Boyd shook his head. "Why would you not want me to file a report? He obviously has no intentions of stopping and is unlikely to with that history. Everyone knows and looks the other way. The ignorance and discrimination in that alone is astounding. Doesn't it bother you at all?"

Another shrug and this time Sin couldn't help wanting to turn away from the topic. He wasn't interested in being seen as the victim in some unfortunate circumstance. Harry Truman was a nuisance and a danger to him only because he couldn't defend himself without making the situation worse. It would be something he'd have to deal with or learn how to in order to avoid the box.

"I'm used to it. It doesn't make a difference to me anymore. People will do what they want because of what they believe about me."

There was a beat of silence and then Boyd frowned. He crossed his arms, somehow seeming stubborn in the act. His tone was matter-of-fact when he spoke. "Well, I don't accept your status quo. He already dislikes me so not filing the report wouldn't help. And regardless of that, I disagree with your treatment. I won't stand by and do nothing when it's within my power to at least put down in words what everyone else would like to conveniently ignore."

There was obviously no point in arguing the topic so Sin just shook his head. Boyd seemed determined to go through with his plan and he wasn't going to keep fighting him on it. Besides he couldn't deny that there was something interesting about this stubbornness. It was a change from the way Boyd usually acted.

Switching topics entirely Sin asked, "Why were you there, anyway? I'd never seen you there before."

A gust of wind burst past them, whipping Boyd's hair into his face. His eyes narrowed and he tilted his face against the wind. The leaves rustled on the trees around them, while most of the other people in the courtyard gave the two of them a wide berth.

"You told me it was a good place to train."

Sin looked at him with surprise and recalled the brief discussion a couple of weeks ago. He hadn't expected Boyd to actually listen. At the time, he'd only said it to distract himself from the odd thoughts that had started shifting in his mind. Thoughts such as a random desire to cause Boyd's fleeting smile to reappear and curiosity about why Boyd went to Ryan's house when he had seemed so reclusive before.

Boyd's eyebrows twitched down at Sin's expression. "Is it so strange that I went there?"

"No. I just--" Sin stopped, scowling because he couldn't figure out what to say. After a moment of hesitation he finished, "That is, I didn't think you would actually go. I took you for a loner."

"Oh." Boyd studied Sin, his eyebrows drawing down further. After a brief pause he spoke again. "There are times I don't mind being around others. Since you recommended it, I went."

Not knowing what to say to that, Sin looked down at his torn shirt for inspiration and realized that it was worse than he'd thought. The entire collar was destroyed and the shirt was ripped haphazardly to the left. There was a beat of silence between them.

Boyd's gaze ran down Sin's front. "If you need to leave to change..."

"It's not like I have much to change into, anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because the clothes I have are the clothes I've had for over a decade. I don't get out much to do more shopping," was the bland reply.

Boyd watched Sin thoughtfully. "Are you still not allowed to leave on your own?"

Sin shook his head, casting his eyes in the general direction of the gates. "Not without an escort. I am not to be trusted in the city on my own."

"Hmm." There was a brief pause. "Would you like to go now?"

His eyes snapped back to Boyd and this time he didn't bother trying to hide the surprise on his face. "With you?"

"Yes."

There was another extended pause and Sin said finally, "You're really not afraid of me, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Boyd's gaze was unwavering as he met Sin's eyes.

There was something ironic about that, considering Boyd had almost been killed by him not even a few weeks ago. They looked at each other for a moment longer before turning to walk towards the gates of the compound.

"Do you drive?"

Boyd nodded and gestured to the large parking lot by the residential buildings, not too far from the entrance to the compound. "Usually. My car's in the main lot. "

With a somewhat skeptical hesitation, Sin followed Boyd. He stole discreet looks at the younger man as they walked, trying to determine why this invitation had suddenly come about.

Yes, they'd had more frequent conversations lately, including topics other than missions or the Agency, but this was still unexpected. If Ryan's words were anything to go by, Boyd had apparently spent time with him outside of briefings. But Ryan appeared to be a sociable and outgoing person in general. Him trying to get to know Boyd made sense. Seeing Boyd outside of the Agency was not something Sin had ever thought about.

Frowning, Sin slid his hands into his pockets. Not knowing where he stood with another person wasn't something he was used to. Most of his interaction with people on the Agency was either one way or the other; they ignored him or went out of their way to ostracize him. Not even Carhart had offered to escort him off the compound before.

Another thing that bothered Sin was that he couldn't decide whether this behavior was genuine or just a way to keep their partnership going smoothly. He had reached a point where it was now pointless to deny that Boyd intrigued him. Everything from his unexpected behavior to the surprising pleasantness of his face being brightened by a smile. Sin couldn't remember the last time anyone had graced him with that expression and it had struck him at the time. But that still didn't give him any more insight into whether this was all an act or not.

Suspicious and quiet, he followed Boyd to his car. It was black and sophisticated looking but Sin didn't pay any attention other than that. They got in and briefly stopped at the gates while Boyd showed his identification and cleared their trip with the guards. It was easier than Sin had thought and he could only assume that Boyd was already on the list of the few people he was allowed to leave with.

As they left the Agency behind, it was quiet in the car at first. There was no music playing and the engine was smooth. They didn't get far away before Sin saw Boyd's face tilt in his direction, and his eyes flick along Sin's length. "Do you have any preferences for price range?"

Sin made a face, having forgotten about that necessity. "Somewhere cheap. I'm kept on a cash allowance. I don't have access to my account."

"That seems strange," Boyd said, looking at him sidelong. "Why not?"

"Because they control every aspect of my life," was the matter of fact reply. Sin shrugged, letting his eyes slide out the window as they drove through All Saints, the neighborhood that the Agency was in. The majority of it was trees with Silver Lake Park not too far away but as they went further south, neighborhoods began cropping into view.

For a moment it seemed Boyd was going to say something else. His lips had parted and he studied Sin's profile a moment, but then he looked away. "I know of some affordable places. If you have no objections, I'd planned to bring you to a thrift store anyway."

Sin shrugged. "I don't care how I look. Wherever is fine."

Boyd nodded and continued driving, leading them southwest toward Vickland neighborhood. Sin didn't pay much attention to where they were headed, although he did note as the scenery passed by that Boyd was taking a few of the lesser used residential back roads. They backtracked to the North to get to a through street and then came back down. They hooked up with Dauphin Street in far western Vickland, just before the area started to transition to the upper class Financial District.

It wasn't until Boyd parked the car that Sin realized the quickest route by far from the Agency would have been to drive all the way down Dauphin Street. Boyd had gone out of the way to avoid it and had probably taken twice as long to get to the destination. The information clicked with Boyd's behavior on their first mission together. Sin glanced over at his partner, wondering just what had happened with the younger man in that area.

"Why are you going out of your way for me, anyway?" he asked, not voicing the questions going through his mind.

"Because I want to," Boyd said simply and honestly. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and looked over at Sin. "I don't have a very good answer aside from that. Except..."

He paused, his eyebrows drawing down. He searched Sin's face thoughtfully, as if he could find the answers he was looking for there. "It bothers me to think that you have no one to rely on, and that most of your alienation appears to be due to others' issues more than your own. I'm not in the habit of acting before I think, and I've taken the time to consider you. I've yet to find a reason why I shouldn't help you. So when something occurs that makes me want to help, I do."

Eyebrows rising, Sin tilted his head to the side. "You really don't seem like the charitable type. You seem like the mind your own business and try not to give a fuck or get involved type."

Boyd's lips tilted up humorlessly on the edges. "Normally I am. It seems to be different with you."